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Never wildcatted before

15K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  Trey 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys,
Ive never wildcatted before and dont even reload yet. But Ive fallen in love with the idea of a 35/300 or 375/300 wsm. My idea is a 250gr. .358 or 270gr. .375 traveling at around 2650 out of a 20" barrel.
Would this be possible with the SAUM case? I hunt deep in the temperate rain forest of NW Oregon so Im firm about keeping the short tube. Having my ideal elk rifle/cartridge combo in mind has motivated me to give this thing a try. I wish either Remington or Winchester would bring this round out. Has anyone necked down the .376 steyr to .35? Just currious.
So any advice about were to start? A Remington #7? Were do I get a Magnum sized bolt head in a short action besides this expensive setup. Then buy a new barrel, who are some of the better barrel makers? Thanks for your advice guys.
 
#2 ·
You might want to look into the 350 Remington Magum. It doesn't require reloading and would fulfil all or most of your requirements. I believe remington makes it in the Model seven this year and have reintroduced it in an almost 600 lookalike.
 
#3 ·
the Remington model 673 Guide Rifle is made in .350 Remington Magnum which has the belted magnum bolt face. it is made on the model seven action. i have the Guide Rifle and an origional Remington 600, both in .350 Remington Magnum and can reccomend this cartridge highly for what you want it for. the only other Remington listed on the web site in .350 mag is the model seven magnum KS, a custom shop rifle that lists for $1300 or so.
the 350 is a nice cartridge to reload for. not very fickle and very predictable. my Nosler manual lists several loads that exceed 2500 fps with the 250 grain bullet. close enough to your target velocity that you'll never know without a chronograph.

so unless you are very attatched to the 250 gr at 2650 fps, the .350 Remington Mag is what you are looking for.

monty
 
#4 ·
I would add that a wildcat is not the best cartridge to learn how to load your own ammunition. Especially one that is difficult to form or one that does not have a lot reloading data already developed for it. Even if you have been reloading for several years, some wildcats can be a pain to get right, can be a tremendous amount of work for little gain, or can be dangerous if there is no data available.
 
#5 ·
Good points!

I would love to have a model 600 or 660 in 350 rem., but they are around $1000 unscoped. I figure if im going to pay that im gona get the rifle i want. I do have a model 600 in 308 win. i could use in trade, or can this rifle be opened up to a 350 rem mag? I really appreciate the info on reloading also. Can a 250gr. bullet come out of a 18.5" or 20" barrel at 2550fps? Ive heard and read that it can and it cant. What kind of load gets there or close? Id like to have a one load rifle, that i use for everything, black bear, elk, cougar, even deer. Thanks for your time.
 
#6 ·
If you want that much velocity from a short barrel you might want a 358 Norma Mag. This brass is available and most smiths can chamber a barrel on any 06 Length action. Your gonna get more recoil than from a 350 rem mag but it will meet your velocity requirements. You know you can buy that new 673 for a lot less than 1000 new.
 
#7 ·
SyCoRex, seems like I'm the only one on your side... The 350 WSM should give a real world increase over the 350 Rem Mag and should be a reasonably easy wildcat to start with since little or no case forming work is required. If you start with new 325 WSM brass, it should be a simple pass thru the sizing die to neck up your cases. Pac-Nor has the correct reamer (350 WSM) so no need to have one made. You could send your 600 to them and they could rebarrel and open up the bolt face for around $500, depending on what grade barrel you wanted. For dies, you should be able to use the Redding neck bushing die (and replace the bushing with the correct size) and the body die for the 300 WSM, so no need to buy custom dies.
You'll want to check to make sure that the reamer, dies, and brass you choose all have the same dimensions except neck diameter/length. For example, you don't want to use 325 brass, a 300 bushing die and a reamer made for a 350/270 WSM if they have different shoulder angles or base to shoulder length. I suspect Winchester uses the same parent case for all the WSMs, though, and that any mix would work OK. I am not a WSM expert, so somebody else will have to verify. PacNor would probably be of assistance with that.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
 
#8 ·
faucettb, youre right, but the 673 is no 600 or 660 in my oppinion. It seems to me that its the image of the 600 compromised with changes that Remington thought kept sales low on the wonderfull little carbine. Thats my opinion. I get what youre saying about the 358 norma, maybe im day dreaming about big numbers out of short barrels. But i have to believe that an honest 2600 fps out of a 20" barrel is possilbe with the 350wsm. (by the way, does anyone have any #'s on the 375wsm with 270gr. bullets out of a 20" barrel? )Maybe thats niaeve but i plan on finding out. id really like to do as much of this as possible, as a hobby since football is done for the season, it may take me a year or two to get it done, but thats ok. Any suggestions on were to start. An old Mauser? An old savage? Were is the best place to start. I guess i could chop up my mod.600 .308 but id prefer not to. Im gona have to have the magazine rails worked on right? lots of stuff i have no clue about.
Shoot! thanks for the advice, once i figure out the right road to go ill keep you up dated.
 
#9 ·
SyCoRex
Well here is an interesting article on the short magmun cartridges. I do believe I read somewhee the reason Winchester did not make the short magnum case into a 338 was some feeding problems they could not over come. If I find that article I will post it here for you. If that is true It may even cause more problems When necked up bigger.


The Short Magnum Cartridges
By Chuck Hawks
The first true commercial short magnum was the .350 Remington Magnum, introduced in 1965 by Remington. The 6.5mm Remington Magnum followed it the next year. These are short action calibers, designed to work through .308 Winchester length actions. They are both belted magnums based on a blown out .375 H&H case with a 25-degree shoulder, reduced to a length of 2.17 inches. Overall cartridge length is 2.8 inches.
Neither of Remington's original short magnums were commercial successes, although the .350 gained a sort of cult following. Factory loaded ammunition for the 6.5 and .350 Magnums was (temporarily) discontinued during the 1990's.
The .350 was reinstated in 2003 when Remington brought out the Model 673 bolt action rifle for the caliber. The Remington Custom Shop also chambers rifles for the .350 Magnum, which seems to have caught its second wind in the 21st Century. It was a cartridge decades ahead of its time when it was introduced.
The 6.5mm Rem. Mag. was reintroduced in 2004, also in the Model 673. It is worth noting that the 6.5mm Mag. handily out-performs the new .25 WSSM, also introduced in 2004, as a big game hunting cartridge.
Given the initial lack of consumer acceptance, the development of short magnums languished after 1966. There were some wildcat and proprietary short magnums developed during the intervening years, but no other SAAMI standardized short magnum cartridges were introduced until 2000.
That's when Winchester kicked over the traces and brought out their .300 WSM cartridge, based on a new bottleneck case with a head diameter of .555 inch and no belt. The WSM magnum case has a 35-degree shoulder, a length of 2.1 inches, and a very short neck. The overall cartridge length is 2.86 inches.
Meanwhile, Remington had made the first .300 Short Action Ultra Mag cases in 1999 and was already well along in the process of developing their Short Action Ultra Mag cartridges. These are based on the fat (.550 inch head diameter), beltless, .300 Ultra Mag case shortened to a length of 2.015 inches. The 30-degree shoulder angle of the parent case was retained, and the neck is very short. The overall cartridge length was set at 2.825 inches. This length was chosen to allow it to work in the Model 7 short action rifle. Remington introduced their .300 SAUM shortly after Winchester's .300 WSM hit the market.
The main argument in favor of any of the short magnums is their alleged greater efficiency due to their shorter powder column. The theory is that this shorter but wider powder column is more quickly and evenly ignited by the explosion of the primer, yielding more consistent pressure and somewhat improved accuracy compared to a standard length cartridge of the same capacity. More important, the short magnum cartridges work through short rifle actions, which saves about 1/2 inch of bolt throw as well as overall rifle length, and a few ounces of weight. (The latter is rather a mixed blessing when shooting a magnum cartridge.)
In reality, many factors influence intrinsic accuracy and performance more than the length of the powder column inside of the cartridge. Paramount are the uniformity and concentricity of the bullet, the quality and precision of the rifle barrel, the care taken in bedding the barrel and inletting the stock, and the care with which the loads are assembled and matched to the rifle. In a hunting rifle, any advantage conferred by a shorter powder column is insignificant.
All of the WSM and SAUM cartridges use a .532-.534 inch rebated rim of standard (.375 H&H) Magnum diameter. So, like the earlier Remington short magnums, they mate with standard magnum-size bolt faces. But remember, their fat bodies have a head diameter immediately above the extractor groove of about .55 inch. So the body of the case is bigger around than the rim. This miracle of design is called a rebated rim, and it allows increased powder capacity compared to the earlier .350 Magnum case, at the price of decreased feed reliability and magazine capacity.
With any rebated rim case, the face of the bolt has less overlap with the rim of the case as it attempts to slide it forward and out of the magazine lips. This can lead to feeding failures and over-ride jams. For this reason, cartridges with rebated rims are not regarded as a good choice for use in rifles that might be used on dangerous game. Magazine capacity may be reduced by one cartridge because the WSM and SAUM cases are so fat--another reason standard magnum cartridges are preferred for use on dangerous game. (An unnecessary reduction in firepower is clearly undesirable when hunting dangerous game.) Nor are their sharp 30-35 degree shoulders conducive to smooth and reliable feeding. In fact, one of the justifications for the extremely sloping 8.5 degree shoulders of the original .375 and .300 H&H Magnum cartridges was feed reliability because of their anticipated use on dangerous game.
Following the initial success of the .300 WSM and SAUM, the .270 WSM and 7mm WSM and SAUM were introduced. In 2005 the .325 WSM came alopng. While the .350 Rem. Mag. and 6.5mm Rem. Mag. are unique because of their short, belted cases (and easy to tell apart because one has a skinny bullet and one a fat bullet), the new WSM and SAUM short magnums all look very similar to each other. None, however, are interchangeable.
In 2003 Winchester introduced a line of Super Short Magnum (WSSM) cartridges, starting with the .223 WSSM and .243 WSSM. In 2004 they announced the .25 WSSM. All of these are based on the WSM case shortened to a length of only 1.65" and a COL of 2.36". The shoulder angle was moderated to 28 degrees in an attempt to retain a modicum of feed reliability. The WSSM cartridges have caused major problems for rifle designers attempting to work with these very short, very fat cases because thay are an inherently poor design for use in the box magazines of almost all modern repeating rifles. The WSSM's are really best suited for use in single shot rifles, just like the bench rest cartridges that inspired them.
Let's take a look at the ballistics and prospects of the various short magnum cartridges, starting with the WSSM trio. These should have been named WSSC (Winchester Super Short Cartridge), for the WSSM cartridges are not magnum cartridges in any sense of the word, and thus do not really merit inclusion in this article. The WSSM's are hard pressed to equal the performance of existing short action cartridges such as the .220 Swift, 6mm Remington and .257 Roberts +P, and their performance is easily exceeded by standard cartridges such as the .25-06. Compared to true magnum cartridges such as the .240 and .257 Weatherby Magnums they are an embarassment. I find it hard to believe that they will achieve any lasting commercial success once the novelty of their very short cases wears off.
The true short magnum cartridges begin with the 6.5mm Rem. Mag. The Remington 6.5mm Magnum factory load drives a 120 grain bullet to a muzzle velocity (MV) of 3210 fps and muzzle energy (ME) of 2745 ft. lbs., well beyond the performance of the standard short action .260 Remington. The Hornady Reloading Handbook lists loads up to 3000 fps with 140 grain bullets, and 2800 fps with their 160 grain bullet. All velocities were measured in a 24 inch rifle barrel. IMR 4350 seems to be an efficient powder for this cartridge.
The 6.5mm Remington Magnum is a flat shooting, long range CXP2 class game (deer, antelope, sheep, goat, and black bear) cartridge on the order of the .270 Winchester. It has plenty of killing power, even when fired from a 22 inch barrel. And it offers moderate recoil (13.1 ft. lbs. in an 8 pound rifle) in the light weight hunting rifles that are the natural home of short magnum cartridges.
The newer .270 Winchester Short Magnum cartridge has factory loads using a 130 grain bullet at a MV of 3275 fps and ME of 3096 ft. lbs., a 140 grain bullet at a MV of 3125 fps and ME of 3035 ft. lbs., and a 150 grain bullet at a MV of 3150 fps and ME of 3304 ft. lbs. These figures were all taken in a 24 inch test barrel.
The .270 WSM shoots as flat as the 6.5mm Magnum, and hits a little harder. It is probably a better choice than the 6.5 Magnum for large CXP3 class game like elk. The .270 WSM kicks a lot harder than the 6.5mm Magnum, just under 19 ft. lbs. in an 8 pound rifle, but less than the other short magnum cartridges.
The 7mm WSM and 7mm Rem. SAUM boast similar ballistics. The following are Winchester 7mm WSM figures, with Remington 7mm SAUM figures in parenthesis. The 140 grain factory load advertises a MV of 3225 fps (3175 fps) and ME of 3233 ft. lbs. (3133 ft. lbs.). The 150 grain factory load advertises a MV of 3200 fps (3110 fps) and a ME of 3410 ft. lbs. (3221 ft. lbs.). The 160 grain factory load claims a MV of 2990 fps (2960 fps) and ME of 3176 ft. lbs. (3112 ft. lbs.). All figures taken in 24 inch test barrels.
The new 7mm short magnums are clearly redundant. They are too similar to each other, and neither offers any ballistic advantage over the established and much more popular 7mm Remington Magnum. Unfortunately, their stubby, short necked cases are not well adapted to 160 and 175 grain bullets, so they are less suitable for hunting the large game for which most customers purchase a 7mm Magnum rifle. The standard length 7mm Rem. Mag. has about a 100 fps advantage with these heavier bullets. And the short 7mm magnums are not recommended (for the reasons cited above) for hunting thin-skinned dangerous game (bears and big cats). As a result, neither of these 7mm Short Magnums seems to be gaining any real traction with the shooting public.
The .300 WSM and .300 Rem. SAUM also advertise similar ballistics. The following are Winchester .300 WSM figures, with Remington .300 SAUM figures in parenthesis. The 150 grain factory load has a claimed MV of 3300 fps (3200 fps) and ME of 3628 ft. lbs. (3410 ft. lbs.). The 180 grain factory load claims a MV of 2970 fps (2960 fps) and ME of 3526 ft. lbs. (3501 ft. lbs.). All figures taken in 24 inch test barrels.
Any .300 Magnum is most appropriate when the emphasis in on hunting the larger species of big game. The .300 Short Magnums are not recommended for use on dangerous game. The biggest problem with any .300 Magnum is its excessive recoil, which is well beyond the 15-20 ft. lb. limit the average shooter would do well to observe. Recoil energy with either of the .300 short magnums runs about 23-26 ft. lbs. in an 8 pound rifle, depending on bullet weight. It seems unlikely that both of these new cartridges will stand the test of time, and perhaps neither of them will, as they do nothing the popular .300 Win. Mag. cannot do as well or better.
In the same class as the .300 short magnums is the newer .325 WSM. This cartridge came about as the result of a failed attempt to create a .338 WSM. The .325 WSM is intentionally misnamed to make it sound bigger than it is. It actually has a .315" bore diameter and should have been named the .315 WSM. It is an 8mm cartridge, and its performance is nearly identical to that of the .300 WSM. The most important difference between this cartridge and the .300 WSM is the relative scarcity of 8mm bullets for reloading. Another drawback is its vicious recoil in the light Browning and Winchester rifles supplied in .325 WSM, recoil far in excess of the .350 Rem. Mag.
The .350 Rem. Mag. remains the only medium bore short magnum cartridge. The ballistics of the .350 Remington Magnum factory load introduced in 2003 claim a 200 grain bullet at a MV of 2775 fps and ME of 3419 ft. lbs. The discontinued Remington factory load drove a 250 grain bullet at a MV of 2419 fps with ME of 3220 ft. lbs. These figures are well beyond what the short action .358 Winchester can achieve.
Anyone shooting a .350 Magnum rifle today should be reloading. The Speer Reloading Manual No. 13 shows top velocities of 2942 fps with their 180 grain bullet, 2676 fps with their 220 grain bullet, and 2484 fps with their 250 grain bullet, all taken in the 22 inch barrel of a Ruger M-77 rifle.
The .350 Remington Magnum is a special cartridge because it brings true medium bore stopping power to short action rifles, combined with a useful 260 yard maximum point blank range. As a cartridge for a "guide rifle" it is hard to beat. Recoil is right up there, at about 25 ft. lbs. in an 8.5 pound rifle, although this is actually moderate for a medium bore magnum. The .350 Rem. Mag. is a useful cartridge that remains my favorite short magnum.
The future looks reasonably bright for at least some of the short magnum cartridges. The 6.5mm Rem. Magnum, .270 WSM, and .350 Rem. Magnum are unique cartridges, and each offers something special to the shooter. They are not just duplicates of earlier cartridges. These are the most useful of the short magnum cartridges.
Of the new short magnum cartridges, the .270 WSM seems to have generated the most interest. I think there is a built-in market for a new commercial .270 Magnum cartridge in North America, and for decades there has been a perceived need for a short action .270. The .270 WSM can fill both roles.
The .300 WSM seems to be the favorite among the short .300's. It pretty well fills the bill for a short action elk caliber with all-around capabilities, and it was on the ground first. As for the other short magnum calibers, time will tell, but they are not setting any sales records.
There has been speculation about what other calibers might be offered in one or the other of the short magnum formats. I can see some appeal to the idea of a .250 Short Magnum based on the .300 Rem. SAUM case. This would exceed .25-06 performance in a short action cartridge and make an excellent, although specialized, long range mountain rifle caliber. Such a cartridge would have no advantage over the .257 Weatherby, and ultimately could not match that cartridge's ballistics, but it would clearly outperform the .25 WSSM. That alone might be a good reason for Remington to take such a step, as they do not appear to be winning the head to head confrontation against Winchester with their 7mm and .300 entries.
Interesting cartridges, these short magnums. It will be fun to see what the future brings. Those who are interested can read the individual articles about the various short magnums on the Rifle Cartridge Page.
 
#10 ·
It always seems folks have the desire to have lots of power with big bullets in short (light) carbines. Sadly there are going to have compromises made. High velocity and short barrels just don't go togather.

You get to much recoil with light rifles and magnum cartridges.

You loose a lot of velocity with barrels under 20 inches and gain a lot of muzzle blast.

Personnaly I have never really noticed the difference between a long and a short action. Shoot a model 7 Rem, a 700 in 243 and the old 8mm Mag in 700 Remington. I just raise the bolt, pull it back til it stops, push it forward til it stops and turn it down. When I'm shooting at the range or at game that one or so inch has never made any difference. At least none I can percieve. It may make a littel difference in building an ultra light rifle, but ultralight and the power and energy your talking about really don't go togather.

If you want the velocity you are talking about in a carbine with a 20 inch or under barrel it won't be a pleasent gun to shoot unless you get the weight up above at least 8.5 pounds.

As the Mr Hawks implies the super short (stubby fat rounds) are not the optimum cartridges for a dangerous game gun i.e. there are a lot of other cartridges that feed more reliably.

You might want to think about going to a 375 H&H mag. Lots of them around to play with in any bolt action that you like and you can cut a barrel to 18 or 20 inches and get lots of knockdown power with a nice 270 or 300 grain bullet.

If you get one in stainless with a laminated stock topped with a good long eye relief scope or ghost ring peep sights it would be powerful, fast and deadly in those deep rain forests.

I personally have always thought a short fullstocked 375 would make a really pretty gun. I shoot an 8mm Remington Mag for my deer and elk rifle here in Idaho so the 375 ported an with one of the new gel recoil pads should not be a lot worse. Course you got to realize I have always been a fan of Elmer Kieth.

Good luck in your project and keep us posted
 
#11 ·
SyCoRex said:
Hey guys,
Ive never wildcatted before and dont even reload yet. But Ive fallen in love with the idea of a 35/300 or 375/300 wsm. My idea is a 250gr. .358 or 270gr. .375 traveling at around 2650 out of a 20" barrel.
Would this be possible with the SAUM case? I hunt deep in the temperate rain forest of NW Oregon so Im firm about keeping the short tube. Having my ideal elk rifle/cartridge combo in mind has motivated me to give this thing a try. I wish either Remington or Winchester would bring this round out. Has anyone necked down the .376 steyr to .35? Just currious.
So any advice about were to start? A Remington #7? Were do I get a Magnum sized bolt head in a short action besides this expensive setup. Then buy a new barrel, who are some of the better barrel makers? Thanks for your advice guys.
Sycorex, I shoot both a 350RM and a 375 WSM. A 35 SAUM would offer no balistic advantage over the 350 RM so I would just go with the factory gun. A 375WSM will do 2790fps out of a 21" barrel with the 235 gr. Barnes XLC. The 300 gr. bullets will do over 2400fps. Both energies come in around 4000 ft/lbs. A 35 WSM (35 Sambar) will come in about the same. Both rounds feed great in a rifle designed for them. Recoil is stiff with both rounds but managable. Alot less than a H&H. I would not neck down the Steyr because of the scarcity of the brass. Both rifles make great medium bore elk rounds in the timber with the trajectory to reach out a good ways if needed.
 
#12 ·
SyCoRex said:
faucettb, youre right, but the 673 is no 600 or 660 in my oppinion. It seems to me that its the image of the 600 compromised with changes that Remington thought kept sales low on the wonderfull little carbine. Thats my opinion. I get what youre saying about the 358 norma, maybe im day dreaming about big numbers out of short barrels. But i have to believe that an honest 2600 fps out of a 20" barrel is possilbe with the 350wsm. (by the way, does anyone have any #'s on the 375wsm with 270gr. bullets out of a 20" barrel? )Maybe thats niaeve but i plan on finding out. id really like to do as much of this as possible, as a hobby since football is done for the season, it may take me a year or two to get it done, but thats ok. Any suggestions on were to start. An old Mauser? An old savage? Were is the best place to start. I guess i could chop up my mod.600 .308 but id prefer not to. Im gona have to have the magazine rails worked on right? lots of stuff i have no clue about.
Shoot! thanks for the advice, once i figure out the right road to go ill keep you up dated.
I'm not one to throw cold water on a wildcatting project. Economics and logic are very often absent from wildcatting projects; it's just plain fun. I did, however, just this past Christmas, buy me my own present...a Rem 673 350 mag. Very nice rifle. I very much like the long straight grip. I too have a Model 600 in 350 mag, almost mint condition. I mounted a Burris compact 2-7x scope on it, but never took it hunting because it was in such good shape, I didn't want to ding it. That scope has now been transferred to the 673, with plans to go elk hunting with it this year. I hate to do this to everyone, but I'm going to anyway.....I got that Model 600 about 5 years ago for $300!!

For your project, I'd start with with a Yugo Mauser. You can get them very cheaply (look in Shotgun News), and their actions are slightly shorter than the std '98 Mauser. Have a gunsmith open up the boltface and maybe open up the rails a bit, slap a barrel on it, a new safety (I like the Model 70 3-position types) and a Boyds stock, and you're a short time from the woods! I wouldn't get too hung up on 2650 fps vs 2500 fps, especially where you're at. Neither you or the animal are going to be able to tell.

Good luck.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Hi SyCoRex:

I think you are on to a wonderful idea. The 358/325 WSM or the 375/325 WSM should be wonderful cartridges. Both should give more velocity than the 350 Rem. Mag. or the 35 Whelen. Actually I've given a fair bit of thought to having the 375/325 WSM made up on a Browning Lever Action. Start with a BLR in 325 WSM. Then just rebarrel to 375/325 WSM. If you have the chamber cut so that the headspace is the same as the 325 WSM you should be able to fire-form brass by shooting 325 WSM cartridges in the 375/325 WSM chamber. I've done a lot of this sort of thing with my 358 Winchester, just load up with 308 ammunition and shot. The result is beautiful 358 Winchester brass. The BLR weighs 6 lbs, 12 oz in the stainless 325 WSM. If you get dies for your wildcat which I highly recommend if your just getting into reloading you should also be able to make 375/325 WSM brass by running the 325 WSM brass into the sizing die. This assumes that you have a tapered expander plug in the die. In a 20" inch tube I would expect based on case volume that the ballistics whould be so close to the 375 H&H as to be virtually indistinguisable. With the 270 grain bullet I would expect about a 50 fps drop over the 375 H&H. All this in a fairly light rifle that would be just under 40 inches in length. Once you got the scope on and ammo in the box I'd expect hunting weight to be about 8 lbs. Thanks to the great recoil pad and the excellent stock design of the BLR I would expect felt recoil to be about the same as the 325 WSM. I think you should easily get 2,600 fps with the 270 grain slug. Keep us posted on the results of your project. If it works out well, I'll almost certainly build one on the Stainless BLR.
 
#14 ·
I sure like the idea of the 350 WSM...in fact I may have thought it up. Look at the thread for the 35 Whelen Short mag on this forum...

Of course, others have too...it's just a natural bump from the 325 WSM, which in reality does little to improve the 300 WSM.

ANyway...I found a Rem 673 in 350 Rem mag at GI Joes on closeout for just a bit over $600. As an ORegon dude, you might check w/ GI Joes... as building the wildcat will cost you more in the long run. After I do it, I'll tell you how much more!
 
#15 ·
Hi All:

I just picked up the June Handloader Magazine. It has a great article in it on Formulas for estimating velocities from one cartridge to another given the same pressure and barrel length. The is one adjustment for case volume, then another one for bore diameter changes, and a final one for changes in bullet weight.

Using those formulas and the fact that I'm getting very close to 2,400 fps in my 358 Win. BLR I calculate that your 375/325 WSM firing 270 grain bullets should get 2,616 fps from your wildcat in a 20" barrel.
 
#16 ·
Not so Wild Cats

Moving back to the original question posed at the beginning of this thread. I can recommend the .35-300 Winchester Magnum as a wonderful option for any .35 caliber shooter. I recently had my FN Mauser in .300 Winchester Magnum rebarreled with a Krieger 1x14 .35 caliber barrel chambered for the .35-300 Winchester Mag. It is a logical choice for this proven action with no feeding problems or radical modifications -- just spin on the new barrel and you are ready to rock and roll. The .300 cartridge loves this upgrade and the brass is a snap (not to mention dirt cheap) to come up with. I can higly recommend this as a "not so wild cat" combination that will give you as much or as little as you want with a broad choice of bullet designs and weights. I'm still working on this giant killers favorite combination...I'll keep you posted.
 
#17 ·
Lots of good ideas but all are geared to bolt rifles. You might consider getting a Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70 and rebarrel it to a 35/45-70 wildcat which would give you close to what you are looking for in velocity. Beside that you would have a very handy to carry rifle with 18 1/2" to 20" barrel.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
#18 ·
Hi from the land downunder
I couldnt help but reply to this post. A fellow hunter down here has taken a WSM given it bugger all taper a 40degree shoulder and neck to 458 calibre he uses the 300grn projectile at near enough to 2800 fps and is getting some excellent results on sambar deer. he claims the case capacity is close to 458 loads using 77grs of powder.

I cant help but wonder how the new 375 ruger case will go necked to 458 calibre.
 
#20 ·
Hey SyCoRex, I do believe I have found the answer to your problems. the names of these saviors are the .338 federal and the .375 Ruger. Both are in a short action, and are recomended for use in short rifles. i.e. 22" barrels or shorter. the .338 Federal is simply the 308 necked up to .338 and delivers a 210 @2650 fps. the 375 ruger which is available in the Ruger Hawkeye and Alaskan, is unbelted on a .532 head, is shorter than a full length 30'06 and delivers 300gr bullets at nearly 2700 fps. in other words it matches the regular 375 H&H in a short action and shorter barrel. ( hawkeye has a 22" bbl, Alaskan Has a 20"bbl )
 
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